Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary: Earthshock

CYBERLEADER: They restrict
and curtail the intellect and logic of the mind.

DOCTOR: They also enhance
life! When did you last have the pleasure of smelling a flower, watching a sunset,
eating a well-prepared meal?

CYBERLEADER: These things
are irrelevant.

DOCTOR: For some people,
small, beautiful events is what life is all about!

The Doctor and Adric are
having quite the argument.Adric is
tired of being teased and being considered an outsider and wants to go
home.The Doctor is furious over this as
it would require going back into E – Space and through a CVE and would be
really tricky if not disastrous. So The
Doctor materializes the TARDIS in an underground cave and decides to go outside
and calm down leaving Adric to plot the course to his own destruction.

While looking at dinosaur fossils
The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan come across mining equipment and soon the military
who are investigating an attack on the expedition that was working there.Put there are problems as The Doctor is
accused of killing the expedition and is trying to tell his side when the group
is attacked by androids.It appears
these androids are the ones responsible for killing the expedition and a group
of Lt. Scotts men.They successfully
destroy the Androids but realize that they were equipped with cameras and that
whoever controls the androids knows what is going on.

Then there is the case of
the bomb.The Doctor realizes that the
bomb is extremely powerful and could destroy the Earth.The Doctor tries to deactivate it but is
being fought at every turn.Once they
finally succeed in deactivating the bomb The Doctor finds the source of the
signal and heads off to deep space onto a cargo ship.On that ship and unknown to those on board
besides a traitor is an army.What is
more frightening is that the army is Cybermen and they are hell bent on destroying
Earth and stopping the Cyberpact. The Doctor must save The Earth and his
companions from The Cybermen and unfortunately he fails to do so.

Boom!!!!That’s the last image we see of Adric at the
end of Earthshock as he died trying to save the Earth. A planet he has no ties to. For once we see The Doctor powerless to save
his companion.Imagine what must have
gone through the minds of Doctor Who fans back in 1982.Don’t forget this was in the age that social
network did not exist and no one knew what was happening.So just imagine what fans thought when the
companion was killed off.

Earthshock was a story
full of surprises.It has that really
cool cliffhanger reveal of who the true enemy really was.The Cybermen make their triumphant return
with a new look and new plan to cause The Doctor grief.The Cybermen have not been seen since Revenge
of the Cybermen back in 1975 the Cybermen were due for a return and for a
facelift.Filming of this story was so secretive
as John Nathan – Turner wanted their return to be a surprised as he closed the
public gallery and refused a Radio Times cover to keep The Cybermen’s return a
surprise.

They were given a new
sleeker look and their voices were more menacing. They also incorporated using
androids to do their dirty work something they haven’t done before even though
they have taken control of people’s minds before.The new look was really cool as it made them
look more sinister and not like robots as much.You had the feel that humans were in there especially at the mouth area.

I believe that Earthshock
is one of the best Cybermen stories of all time.Besides Tomb of the Cybermen there isn’t a
story that portrays them to be a major threat.Earthshock is well written and well-acted that it is truly a classic.
There is also a lot of good dialog in Earthshock in fact some of the finest of
the Fifth Doctor era if even the shows history. Earthshock is a really well
written story and you can tell just from the beginning of episode one.In fact Earthshock is one of the best
stories of the 5th Doctor era.

The story is a roller
coaster of emotions as the Cyberleader really knows how to manipulate The
Doctor.He uses the Doctor’s compassion
for humans and especially his friends that the inevitable death of Adric is
that much more poignant. When it happens
you really get a sense of failure from The Doctor even though he stopped the
Cybermen.

Earthshock is a story that
brings back the Cybermen and uses them right.I love the whole aspect of the story mainly due to the mystery that
surrounds it.For instance when it
starts off on Earth you have no idea why there is a bomb and who the androids
were guarding it for?Plus why is the
signal coming from deep space? All great
plot devices that work to a T in Earthshock.Everything they did seemed to work to perfection in Earthshock and it
stands the test of time because of it.Earthshock is truly a classic and one that is truly amazing to watch
over and over and plus it does have that horror feel to it as there are quite a
bit behind the sofa moments.

Earthshock has one of the
best cliff hangers in Doctor Who’s history.You all know it and it is a pretty awesome scene. It is the end of part
3 when the Cybermen are activated and burst out of the tubes. They then proceed
to march toward the front of the spaceship with The Doctor looking on in horror
at the view on the screen.It is such a
classic scene and a classic moment in Doctor Who’s history.Earthshock is truly a story to be watched and
enjoyed over and over.

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